Don't Leave Me
by mojoboy31
Summary: Takes place shortly after the end of the series. Robin and Raven have been having a hard time holding the team together. Darkness will rise. Blood will be shed. Friendships and loyalties tested, and bonds will be forged in the battle of good vs evil. Rated T for now. Part Eight now online :)
1. Part One

"Ladies and gentlemen!" a man shouts somewhere nearby. "Boys and girls of all ages..."

Little Richard Grayson stands behind a curtain in the red and white striped circus tent. The smell of livestock, cigarette smoke, cotton candy, and popcorn fills his nostrils.

"It's show time, Dick," his mother says, standing behind him.

The butterflies assault his stomach and he knows she's feeling them too.

She places a reassuring hand on his shoulder and squeezes gently.

His father walks up behind them, putting an arm around his mother and kissing her cheek.

Dick looks up to his father, his face stoic with a twinkle in an eye.

His father looks down to him with a smirk.

"Just remember what we taught you, and you'll be fine," he says with a wink.

"I love you, Dick," his mom says.

Dick smirks at her and lets out a long breath and then another.

"And now, without further ado," the announcer calls. "The Flying Graysons!"

Dick's heart triples its pace and he walks out with his parents to thunderous applause.

Seconds later, they're on top of the trapeze platforms, waiting to begin.

The crowd falls silent in anticipation.

The spotlights find them.

Dick takes one last look at his father, who winks and swings away. The crowd applauds as his mother catches his father in midair.

Dick lets out a bunch of quick breaths as he waits for the trapeze to return. He reaches out and catches it. His father nods and he knows it's time.

The crowd falls silent again.

Dick pulls against the swing, and jumps into the air, letting it carry him across the gap. _One, two. One, two,_ he begins his count, his mother's voice echoing in his mind. _Mind the count, Dick. It can save your life, or our lives..._

The wind rushes through his hair, the ground passes below him. He releases the swing and seems to hang in midair, reaching both hands into empty air.

His father catches him.

The crowd roars.

And just like that, the butterflies are gone, and he knows that this is what he was born for.

They run through a few more jumps, each more difficult than the last. _Never lose the count, Dick_, his mother's voice echoes again.

Dick catches the swing again and takes flight. He lets go of the swing, hurling himself into the air, flipping and spinning. He had lost the count and jumped too early.

His mother was late getting there and he tumbles towards the earth below.

The crowd lets out a collective gasp.

He resists the urge to scream and grits his teeth. His body slams into the safety net and bounces a few times before he comes to a complete stop.

The crowd cheers as he makes his way to the ground.

He hangs his head in shame, knowing that he blew it big time.

His mother offers a sympathetic nod.

He makes his way towards the ladder to climb back up, but his father waves him off with a shake of his head, his signal that Dick is done for the night.

Dick tries to stiffen his upper lip as he walks back towards the curtain.

"You'll get em next time, Dickie," the daughter of the animal trainer says.

Dick just shakes his head in a daze.

The young girl nudges his shoulder and tries to offer a smile while trying to blow strands of her black hair out of her face.

He watches his parents take flight, and finds himself in awe of them. _So graceful. So amazing._

The crowd cheers wildly, then falls silent again and again.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," the ring announcer come out again. "If you're impressed now, just you wait."

He explains that the safety net will now be removed, and each of their stunts will be even more dangerous, and spectacular.

Dick watches in awed silence. No matter how many times he's seen them in action, it will never get old.

He watches his mother fly through the air, and for a minute, he really believes that she can fly. The way she turns in the air like she can manipulate her own gravity.

And then.

Then the unthinkable happens.

His father catches her with one strong arm, and the rope tears, sending them falling towards the ring below.

The crowd lets out a horrified wail.

Dick feels his legs moving before making the decision to run for them. Something tugs on his red tunic, but he just runs harder.

"NO!"

Something blurs in front of him.

_Crack!_

Something warm, thick, and wet splashes his face. He opens his eyes and sees only red. He wipes at his face, horrified beyond imagining. There in front of him, lay the crumpled, broken bodies of his parents.

"NO!" he wails, barely intelligible. "No, no, no, no..."

The circus all but explodes in hysteria, but for Dick, there's nothing, but him and his parents.

He falls to his knees before them, tears mixing with the blood covering his face.

"Don't..." he says. "Don't..."

His whole body heaves with each shuddering breath.

"I love you... Don't leave me..."

A new voice enters his awareness- an eerie, cold, heartless, voice.

"Everyone you love will leave you," it hisses. "EVERYONE!"

His eyes rip open and he sits up in bed heaving, gasping for breath. Rain patters softly against the giant window across from the bed. He waits for his eyes to adjust to the dark, and he knows that he's in his room in Titans Tower.

Have you ever woken from a nightmare, and reassured yourself in the knowledge that it was just a dream?

Ever told yourself that your nightmare couldn't hurt you?

Unfortunately for Robin, his nightmare is not merely a dream and though it occurred long ago, he is all too aware that it can, and in fact _does_ hurt him.

He checks the clock. _3:37 A.M. Ugh..._

He rolls from his bed, his bare torso drenched in sweat. He walks across the gray room and heads into his bathroom. He tries to catch his breath and splashes cold water on his face. He puts on a red hoody, and his mask, then heads to the kitchen for a snack. The halls are quiet as they usually are at this hour. Once he reaches the kitchen, he sees that plates with dried food crusted on them clutter up the counters. The stove has grease layered on it, and the sink is piled full of dishes. He rolls his eyes. _Looks like Cyborg had a midnight snack._

The freezer door creaks as he opens it, and his profile becomes illuminated by the light bulb in the freezer. Instead of finding his favorite ice cream, he finds a note.

**Robin,**

**finished off your chocolate. Sorry.**

**_Cy_**

A familiar presence enters his awareness, a warm sensation in his chest pulsing ever so slightly. Shaking his head, he closes the freezer door and opens the fridge, finding his chocolate mousse is also missing.

"Cyborg," he grumbles.

"Actually," a detached female voice says. "Beast Boy ate your mousse yesterday."

Raven approaches the counter, wearing her usual dark blue cloak, her hood hiding her face.

"I see Cyborg's been busy," she deadpans.

"Beast Boy too, apparently."

He can't see it, but he knows she's smirking.

"What are you doing up?" he asks.

"Couldn't sleep," she says.

"A lot of that going around."

He looks around, finding Raven's teapot.

"Tea?"

She nods, her cloak going up, and down.

"Comin' up."

It will take considerable time to clear a space to the sink, he thinks, but a black aura engulfs the dishes, suspending them above the sink, giving Robin room to maneuver.

He turns back to Raven and smirks.

Though he can't see it, he knows that she's smirking back.

Only a few minutes later, the teapot has boiled and Raven drops two teabags into it while Robin finds them two teacups.

They work in silence. The soft rain, the only sound to be heard.

He sets the cups down in front of Raven, then crosses into the living room and opens the curtains to peer out at the predawn morning.

"Honey?" she says.

He turns around, and looks her way.

"What?"

She stiffens a bit. Most people wouldn't notice, but Robin's not most people.

"Do you want honey in your tea?" she monotones.

"Oh, sure," he says.

Then he turns back to the window. After a time, he sees Raven coming up behind him in the window's reflection.

She stands next to him and hands him his cup.

"Thanks," he says.

She nods and sips her tea, looking out the window.

Aside from the rain, no sound but their soft breathing can be heard in the comfortable silence.

Their silences are always comfortable; neither needing to fill an imagined void with needless chatter. Just being in each others presence has been a comfort in itself. The two have been close friends for a long time, made closer after Raven had to enter his mind in order to free him from a delusion. Since that time, they've shared a bond between them- a bond that has only grown over time,

Robin can't really explain it now. It's as if a piece of her essence- a piece of her stayed with him after the mind meld. He can feel it in his chest, a warm safe place. When she's near, it seems to pulsate ever so slightly.

Apparently she's experienced the same thing and she can't explain it either.

The feeling grew stronger after the defeat of Trigon, Raven's father.

She had lost all hope, but Robin wouldn't give in- couldn't give in. He helped her and together with the rest of the team, they did the impossible.

Slowly, Raven became less reserved after that.

Robin blows on his tea to cool it, the steam fogging up the window in front of him.

Standing perfectly upright, Raven turns her head towards him ever so slightly, her face still bathed in shadow.

Her body language is all wrong, Robin thinks. _Too stiff, too erect, too... something_...

It reminds him of when she had first joined the team. Those first few uneasy weeks when he didn't know how to talk to her and she didn't know how to be a member of a team, or how to have friends.

She wants to say something, he can tell, but probably doesn't know how, or what. He decides to just sip his tea, and wait. He's found that patience is always a good policy with Raven and he is very patient.

In the window's reflection, he can still see Raven's head turned his way.

"So, why couldn't you sleep?" Raven finally says.

Robin shrugs, looking straight ahead.

"Nightmare," he says.

She nods.

"Bad?"

He shrugs and sips his tea.

Raven goes silent again, going stiffer than before.

Robin recognizes the tone, and the way she holds the teacup so tightly. _Why so frustrated?_

"Do..." she trails off.

Robin waits some more.

Finally, she pulls her hood back to reveal her shoulder length violet hair and her milky smooth skin, then turns fully towards him.

He faces her, meeting her violet eyes, waiting.

She lets out a breath, and timidly continues.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" she asks.

"What?"

"Your nightmare."

"Oh," he says.

They fall back into a silence, slightly less comfortable than usual.

"So?" she asks.

He shrugs and turns away from the window, heading for the long couch and sits down, then he watches her come towards him and sit on the couch a few feet from him.

She shuffles to get more comfortable and waits for him to begin, watching him intently.

He sips his tea, collecting his thoughts.

"Was it your parents?"

She had seen glimpses of their death when she entered his mind, and he had told her some vague details a few different times.

Over the years they have both shared many things that they would never share with the others.

He downs the rest of his tea, and sets the cup down in front of the curved black couch, then sits back, and lets out a long sigh.

She finishes her tea and sets her cup down as well.

"It's always the same," he says. "It's as if I'm reliving the memory over, and over again."

She gives a sympathetic nod.

"Is it exactly how it really happened?"

"Yes."

A pained expression crosses her face, then is gone.

"Mostly," he says.

"Mostly?"

He hasn't told her about the voice, and he isn't sure why. Maybe a part of him doesn't want her to know his greatest fear.

"Robin?" her voice breaks him out of his thoughts.

"Hmm?" he says.

"What's different?"

He supposes it won't hurt to share this with her.

"I hear a voice, a creepy, cold voice."

She nods intently, waiting.

He tells her what the voice said.

"Robin," she begins. "just because Starfire had to return to Tamaran, doesn't mean that everyone will leave you."

"I've been having the dream and hearing the voice since long before I ever met Starfire," he says, trying force the anger, and pain back down. "Starfire was just the most recent example proving the voice right."

"She didn't want to leave, Robin. She had to, for her people."

"I know," he says. "And my parents didn't choose to leave, they were _murdered_. It's not like I blame them. The fact remains that everyone close to me either leaves, or is taken from me."

Raven goes quiet again.

It's no secret that the team's been having a rough go of it since Starfire left three months ago, and though he won't show it outwardly, it's no secret that Robin took it harder than the rest of the team.

Robin stares straight ahead, but out of the corner of his vision, he can see her tensing again, and looking at him.

"I'm sorry those things have happened to you," she says finally. "but you can't let them affect who you are- what you are."

"I know," he says. "And I won't- I can't. But it's hard not to feel..."

"Cursed?" she finishes.

He nods.

_If anyone can understand the feeling, it's her_, he thinks.

She nods slowly.

"You're not cursed, Robin," she says.

He nods and settles back on the couch.

Raven brings her legs up beside her and fidgets with her cloak, trying to get more comfortable.

Lightning flashes in the distance, followed by rumbling thunder.

Robin ruffles his short dark hair, then puts both hands in the sweatshirt's pockets.

(******)

_**Raven**_

She watches the boy wonder as he breathes slowly on the couch, neither of them saying anything.

His nightmare had invaded her dream and she had seen and heard it all.

That was not the first time that something like that has happened, but never to this degree- never so vivid- so disturbing.

She feels guilty for intruding on his private memories. Though she had no control over it, she can't help but blame herself and wonder what he would think if he knew she had seen all that she had.

After cleaning up a little and grabbing her cloak, she had decided to come looking for him. He was not been hard to find.

What was hard, was trying to help him. She hadn't known how to ask the right questions; she had not known the right questions period. Luckily, the boy wonder was patient, as he always has been.

He was in pain and she knew it. She wanted so desperately to help him, like he had always helped her, but her words just seemed so inadequate. She tried it anyway and found herself not getting very far. In fact, she fears that she may have made him feel worse.

She shuffles on the couch; always amazed at how comfortable it is. _Everyone close to me either leaves or is taken,_ his words ring in her mind.

She wants to tell him that he isn't alone; that she is still there and won't be going anywhere, but somehow can't bring herself to form the words. The silence drags on. She can't think of anything to say, though she desperately wishes that she could.

Lightning flashes again, and this time, the thunder is barely audible. The sound of the rain relaxes her, and her breathing becomes rhythmic.

"You sure?" he asks, finally breaking the silence.

It takes her a second to respond, blinking into the dark, not remembering when she had closed her eyes.

"Hmm?" she barely manages.

He chuckles softly.

"It was nothing."

She nods, struggling to keep her eyes open, then leans her head back against the cushion. Sleep claiming her almost immediately.

(******)

_**Robin**_

He smirks to himself as Raven snores ever softly on the couch. He pulls his feet up onto the couch and lays down flat, his feet almost touching hers. He stares up at the ceiling, and clears his mind of the pain of the last few months, and the images that haunt his dreams. He focuses on Raven's barely audible snoring, and the rain pattering against the window. He breathes deep, closes his eyes and lets sleep take him.

(******)

Robin jolts awake on the couch, sitting up quickly. An alarm bell rings out from somewhere, and it takes him a minute to realize that it isn't a crime in progress alarm, but his T-communicator.

Raven sits up and looks at him with a raised eyebrow.

He rips the comm out of his pocket and activates it, looking at the small screen. An image of an older man with balding white hair. _Alfred?_

"Master, Ri- Robin," Alfred says with his kind, British accent. "I'm afraid there's been an incident."

_Oh, no..._

"Alfred," Robin says. "What's happened? Is Batman alright?"

Raven edges closer to him, her face bathed in concern.

"The master is fine," Alfred says. "I'm afraid it is miss Gordon."

Robin notes Alfred's use of her formal name rather than her status as Batgirl. His fists clench automatically and his heart speeds up.

"Is she..." he trails off.

"She has been shot."

* * *

_Author's note_

_Hey, all._

_I've been watching the reruns of Teen Titans on Boomerang the last couple days and checked out some of the stories here. Ya'll seem like a truly awesome fandom and I'd love to be a part of it. This is my first attempt to write into this fandom and I don't have the most vast knowledge of the show's universe, though I'm pretty familiar with DC Comics._

_My grammar's not the best, but better than some. I've had a wicked cold that's been seriously hampering my focus, so if there are all kinds of grammar and spelling mistakes, know that I tried my very best to catch them. I couldn't make it look like I wanted and the site got rid of all my centered text and things like that, so it appears a bit messy. Sorry_

_If you have any questions, don't hesitate. I love reviews, so please leave me one._

_Thanks for reading,_

_mojo_


	2. Part Two

_I don't own Teen Titans._

* * *

**_Robin_**

"How bad?"

"We do not yet know, I'm afraid."

His heart leaps into his throat and his stomach drops onto the floor.

"How?" is all he can manage.

"The Joker," Alfred answers.

For a few seconds, Robin is lost. Lost in his memories of the redheaded beauty that was his first female partner, his first crush, his first kiss, his first actual girlfriend, and his first messy breakup.

He feels stirring on the couch as Raven moves closer, and immediately, he snaps back to the moment.

"What can I do?" he says.

"The master has requested your presence."

"I'm on my way."

"Please hurry."

The comm cuts off and Robin is already on his feet, heading for the elevator.

Raven follows right on his heels. They reach the elevator and Robin quickly presses a button. The doors close and gravity shifts as the elevator makes its journey.

"Robin," she says.

For the first time since he got the call, he turns to look at her.

"What's going on?"

"Miss Gor- Barbara is the daughter of Gotham City's police commissioner, and she is my friend."

She nods, trying to be reassuring.

"I'm taking the T-ship," he says. "It's the fastest way there."

She nods.

"I'm coming with you," she says.

He looks at her for a second, then shakes his head.

"No," he says. "You're needed here."

"I'm coming. With. You." Her voice firm, and determined.

"You're needed here," he says pleadingly. "We're already down by one member. BB and Cyborg can't handle it all on their own. They need you, Raven."

Terrible sorrow crosses her face, then is gone; replaced by a mask of false calm. She nods a yes and pulls her cloak over her head.

A few minutes later and Robin is in the cockpit, flying through the stormy night sky.

He had strapped himself in, and ran through a rushed pre-flight check. He hovered for just moment, and waved to Raven as she stood there, watching him go. That image of her would haunt him for a long time.

He pushes the T-ship to its limits. It seems an eternity at breakneck speed, but he finally arrives at Gotham General Hospital. He sets the ship to hover and removes his mask, stuffing it into his pants pocket. He sets the autopilot to fly in a holding pattern around the hospital, then hops out, falling briefly, then landing on the roof of the hospital. Light starts making its way into the black of the horizon. _Sun's coming._

He makes his way down a gray flight of stairs, careful not to be discovered, then exits the staircase into a bright white hallway. The smell of rubbing alcohol overwhelms him. Nurses and doctors bustle about the busy floor. He feels naked being in public without his mask on and he has to keep reminding himself that he's not Robin right now. He's just plain old Dick. It seems like forever since he was just Dick.

Dick, the young ward of billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. Dick, the aloof teen of privilege. Dick, the normal guy walking through a hospital in a hoody and black sweats.

Dick assumes the walk of someone who belongs, blending into the environment and crowd. He passes an olive skinned nurse in floral patterned scrubs.

She pays him no mind and goes about her work.

He turns into an elevator and pushes for the doors to close. He grabs his T-com out of his pocket and activates it.

"I'm here, Alfred," he says. "Which floor?"

A few minutes later, Dick rounds a corner and is met with a giant hug from his old friend. Tall, slender, balding white hair and wears a crisp suit like you would see on Downton Abbey.

"It is good to see you, master, Richard," Alfred says. "Though I wish the circumstances were better."

"Yeah," Dick says. "Me too."

He reluctantly breaks the hug.

"How is she?" he says.

"She is out of surgery and doing well."

He breathes an involuntary sigh of relief.

"The bullet hit her spine," Alfred says. "They fear she shall never walk again."

"Oh, Alfred..." he trails off.

Alfred takes him by the shoulders and guides him to a few chairs next to some plants. He sits down and Alfred kneels in front of him.

"She knew the risks of this life when she chose it" Alfred says.

"But Alfred-"

"It will be okay, child."

He keeps his hands on his shoulders for a few seconds more.

"Where's the commissioner?" Dick says after a time.

"Taken," Alfed says. "By the Joker."

"What? I should be helping Batman find them."

"Just stay here and rest. She will need someone here when she wakes up. A nurse will be along when you can see her."

Normally, they probably wouldn't let you visit a patient so early after spinal surgery, but when you're the ward of the great billionaire Bruce Wayne, people tend to bend the rules a little. Not that Dick would ever take advantage.

He nods.

"Is she still in danger from Joker's crew?"

"We do not know for sure, so assume that is so, and stay on your toes. I go to help the master."

Alfred stands back up to his full height and straightens his black dinner jacket, then nods and strides down the white hallway.

(******)

_**Raven**_

Raven tosses and turns in her bed. _They need you, Raven,_ Robin's voice echoes in her mind.

He couldn't have known how much _him_ not needing her had hurt. He was right though. There can be no denying that, without her to babysit them, BB and Cyborg would probably burn the whole tower down in about twenty minutes and in honesty, Robin wouldn't need her. His friend has been shot. He'll probably just sit at the hospital and wait for news. It's not like he'll be walking through the valley of the shadow of death, or anything. She tries to reassure herself, but can't shake the growing anxiety.

She had watched him fly off into the night, then she woke up Cyborg and Beast Boy. She told them about Robin's urgent departure and that they'd be without their leader for the time being, then she went back to bed.

She feels hot, so she throws the covers off, then feels cold, so she pulls them back up. She grumbles under her breath and yawns again. She says a quick prayer for Robin, his safety and his friend's safety. She pleads for just a little bit of shut eye. She focuses on the bond- that warm feeling in her chest that says she's never alone. Her troubles fall away and her mind calms. She drifts off to sleep with images of a certain boy wonder running through her mind.

(******)

_**Robin**_

Time had blurred by for Dick, sitting in that chair, his body begging for rest, but his mind unwilling to grant it while there may still be danger. He noted everyone coming and going, all the nurses, all the doctors, even the janitors; especially the janitors. He watched everything, saw everything.

Finally, a nurse finds him and tells him that he can see her. She leads him to a small private room with armed guards at the door. He knows them from many police functions that he and Bruce attended and of course from when he dated Barbara. They nod and let him enter without a word. The lighting is dimmed to a warm glow rather than the stark white one would expect. Next to the bed is a window that peers out to the city skyline, across from that is a flatscreen tv mounted on the wall.

Dick enters the room and sits down on the cushioned chair next to the bed. He hasn't looked up at her yet, steeling himself for the sight. He finally looks up and it takes all his self control to hold a straight face. _Oh, Babs..._

Tubes and wires go from her body to various machines that beep and whistle. He's seen them all before, too many times. She hasn't awoken yet, and now he realizes that he got the hard job. She's going to wake up and it'll be his job to tell her that her father's been kidnapped by the murdering psychopath who shot her. _She doesn't deserve this._

Their breakup hadn't exactly been mutual. When Dick broke away from Batman, he hadn't intended to lose Barbara too. Looking back, he should have known that her loyalty was to Batman. She refused to see him, stopped returning his phone calls, and even un-friended him on facebook. She completely cut him out of her life. That's why he left Gotham for Jump City. He didn't intend to make friends there. He didn't intend to form relationships. He was looking forward to working alone. But life doesn't always go as planned.

After a long while, Barbara finally reached out to apologize for her behavior. They've had a tentative friendship since then.

The red-headed beauty stirs on the hospital bed, breaking Dick out of his thoughts. He leans forward and takes her hand in his, trying with everything in him to put on a reassuring smile.

"Dick?" she croaks.

"Hey, Babs," he says.

"What are you doing here?"

"You think I wouldn't come when my friend gets shot?"

She smiles weakly at him.

"Thanks," she says.

He nods and she looks around.

"Where's dad?" she says.

He takes a breathe and holds her gaze.

"The Joker took him."

Her face goes even paler and the machines start freaking out. She does not take the news well, and it takes a tremendous amount of effort for Dick to calm her.

"Stop," he says. "Batman is hunting. He'll find them and bring your dad back. You know he will. He doesn't know how to fail."

She swallows and nods. The machines return back to normal after a few seconds.

"If you need anything," he says. "I can ask the nurses."

A middle-aged man wearing a long white coat walks in. He tells Barbara that he's her doctor and then moves to check the machines readouts.

A nurse with short blonde hair and light pink scrubs walks in and goes right to the doctor. They talk in hushed tones, then turn to Barbara.

"Nurse Jones is going to give you something to help you rest, okay? We'll talk more in the afternoon," the man says.

He turns his back and walks out of the room.

The blonde nurse walks over to the I.V and prepares to inject a drug in it.

"Excuse me," Dick says. "What is that?"

"It's just a light sedative," she says.

"I'd like to see that for myself, if I could."

He tries to sound polite, but he's tired and on edge. He wouldn't be surprised if it came out like a threat.

"If you're implying that I would deliberately harm a patient-"

Dick holds his hand up.

"Ma'am, this is Gotham City. Sometimes bad things happen here."

The nurse raises an eyebrow, then rounds the bed and hands Dick the bottle.

His eyes scan it quickly, noting that it is in fact what she claimed it was. He offers it back to her, then offers an apologetic smile.

"Carry on, please," he says.

The nurse nods and rounds the bed. She does her work, then excuses herself.

"Dick," Barbara says. "What if they come for me while I'm here?"

"Now, you listen to me, if they come for you, then every single one of them will wind up laying broken on a bed somewhere in this place."

She smirks slightly.

"I'll stay with you until _he_ comes back with your dad, okay?"

She nods and her eyes start to fall.

"Rest, Babs. Just rest."

Her eyes close and her face relaxes as she passes out.

Dick sits back in the chair, ruffling his short hair. That had gone better than he expected. His heart breaks for Barbara. What will happen if the Joker kills her dad? Would Bruce take her in? He'd have to, wouldn't he?

His mind reels from the events of the last few hours and he remembers how it all started with a nightmare. He's tempted to call Raven, but she'll probably be asleep. She was so tired when he left her. He wishes he hadn't had to leave her, but it was the right decision and that is of some comfort.

An hour later, a well built, white haired man rushes through the door, going right to the bedside without even noticing Dick was there.

"Oh, Barbara!" the man says.

Tears stream down his eyes and he leans heavily on the bed.

Dick has never seen commissioner Gordon so distraught. He feels like he's intruding on a private family moment and tries to discreetly leave the room.

"Thank you," Gordon shouts behind him.

Dick halts at the door. _I guess he did notice me._

"I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you being here for her," Gordon says.

"It's what friends are for, sir."

With that, he steps quietly away.

(******)

_**Raven**_

"Where in the world did all these rats come from?" Cyborg says.

Rats march down the streets like the stream of a river.

"Get offa me!" Beast Boy shouts, then transforms into an eagle and flies.

Standing back to back with Cyborg, Raven tries to survey the area from her position next to the T-car, but can't see anything but rats everywhere. Finally she spots a man wearing a green cloak, standing on a rooftop, playing a flute. She remembers Robin showing her images of the Pied Piper and telling her something about him using his flute to control not just rats, but people too.

Raven holds back a chuckle as Speedy screams and rushes away from a sea of rushing rats, wearing his red outfit and yellow hat.

After waking up, Raven had been tempted to check the tower for Robin, but she knew he wouldn't be back yet. She was tempted to call him, but figured that he would be busy and didn't want to bother him, so she went to the living room to check on BB and Cyborg. She found Speedy there, grinning like he owned the place. Her anger flared immediately. Cyborg explained that he had called Speedy the night before and asked him to come help out while Robin was away.

But Raven knew that Speedy had other plans. It was the look in his eye, the smirk on his lips and the cocky strut when he walked up to her. Raven knew that he was always jealous of Robin; she had seen it every time the two were in a room together. The thought of that arrogant pug going around the tower in Robin's absence, acting like he owns it; it makes her skin crawl.

A flash of pain and the sense of falling breaks her from her thoughts. Her head hits the ground and she feels dizzy. A man stands over her with a baseball bat, a blank look in his eyes; like there's nobody home behind them. Two more large men enter her now fuzzy vision, each with the same blank eyes. _The Piper,_ she tells herself. _The Piper is controlling them._

Cyborg knocks one of them away with the swing of his massive arm, then he is engulfed by a sea of rodents.

Instinct kicks in and Raven, forms a black bubble of energy around herself, then hovers a few feet above the fray.

"Alright," Cyborg says. "That's IT!"

A blue blast explodes from the ground and Cyborg stands up, picking rodents off his back, neck and shoulders.

"Cyborg!" Raven says. "The guy on that building!"

She points to the Piper.

"Titans, GO!" Cyborg shouts.

Beast Boy flies next to Raven, heading for the building as an eagle, then crows fill the sky, blocking their path.

Cyborg sprints across the ground, then halts as a sea of people block off the street.

"His flute," Raven says. "That's how he's doing this."

Three red feathered arrows plant themselves in the middle of the people blocking Cyborg off. A cloud of smoke envelopes nearly the whole crowd, making it possible for Cyborg to get through. _At least Speedy did something._

The crows split their attention between the ground and the air, giving Raven an opening. She wills herself faster, weaving through massive groupings of black birds, looking to peck her eyes out. She lands in front of the green cloaked Piper.

"Enough of this," she growls. "It's over."

The Piper changes tunes.

Raven starts to feel even dizzier and her arms and legs go heavy.

The Piper stalks towards her ever so slowly, coming closer and closer.

She can feel her will sleeping and feel his music breaking into her mind, hypnotizing her. She can't seem to keep her eyes open and she has to fight to stay conscious.

He continues to come closer, now only a step away. He grins and plays softer.

Raven stands on wobbly legs as her knees go weak. She can no longer feel her arms and her vision is going dark. Panic hammers her heart at the realization that this could be her last moments and at the horrible, evil, disgusting things that the Piper may make her do. She can't seem to fight the music burrowing into her brain, so she tries a different tack: she pictures Robin. His face, his smile, _heck_, even his mask.

"Azarath, metrion, zinthos!" she hears herself say.

A great blast of black energy emanates from her body, sending the piper flying back, landing a good fifteen feet away.

His music stops.

She blinks a few times to focus, then stomps towards the piper, teeth bared.

The piper rolls to see her coming at him. He raises his flute to his mouth, then it turns black and flies from his hands.

"No one. Messes. With my. Mind!" she says.

A black bubble envelopes the piper and his loud screams echo in the distance.

* * *

_Author's Note_

_Well, that was part two. I hope you all enjoyed it. I'm still a bit sick, but nothing like before, so if you see spelling/grammar mistakes, it's prolly just me. Sorry._

_If you have any questions, don't hesitate. I hope you review to let me know how I'm doing. _

_Raven is the daughter of a demon, I figure she kinda has to believe in God, so I simply said she prays. As to what God, or any of that, I shall leave that up to your imaginations. It doesn't have to go any further than that. I promise I won't preach at you. I'm just trying to write a good fanfic._

_Thank you Templetongal, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for the kind wishes, it is much appreciated._

_Thank you ahsokalo for the review. If you think Robin has it rough now, just you wait._

_Thank you TexMurphy! The Raven/Robin scene was meant to be the "meat" of the opening, so if you enjoyed it, then mission accomplished. I have to agree with you, the Starfire part was a bit heavy handed. I hate love triangles- I really, really do. I tried not to be heavy handed, but the Starfire plot serves a lot more to the plot than just getting her out of the way. You'll see what I mean as the story progresses. Thanks so much for giving me a chance and letting me know honestly how I did. I appreciate it so very much!_

_Thank you ahsokalo for favoriting._

_Thank you H'sfreedom, acj27, TexMurphy, nnasivad, psychic,soul, ahsokalo, and templetongal for following._

_And thank you everyone who bothered to read so far, you are all awesome people! And thanks for being an awesome fandom!_

_PS: Any suggestions on the summery? I don't think it's very good._


	3. Part Three

_**Robin**_

Steam rises from sewer grates as Robin stalks down an alley in the dead of night. The sound of whimpering reaches his ears. He presses on deeper into the alley, silently, steeling himself for what he might find around the next corner.

After leaving the hospital, Robin went to the batcave. Batman had already turned in for the day. Alfred was there waiting for him though. He offered him some food and his old room. It was exactly as he had left it. He hit the mattress and was asleep before he could pull up the covers. By the time he woke up, it was after midnight. He checked his messages, but had none. He searched the cave, but Batman was already out on patrol. He paced around the cave, unsure of what to do. He thought about calling Raven, but it was too late; he didn't want to wake her, or any of the other titans. He hoped that everything was going well with them and he seriously hoped they weren't in any danger.

He used the bat-computer to send some messages to them, and some of his other friends throughout the superhero community. He just couldn't sit still and wait for Batman to return, so he suited up with a Robin uniform that Batman had on display in the cave. Alfred came down to wish him luck and offer him a thermos of fresh, french pressed coffee with a little cream. Then, Robin was off in the T-jet, patrolling Gotham City. He stopped a bank robbery, then a jewelry store robbery. Coming out of the jewelry store, he heard a noise- a shriek from somewhere nearby.

He ran into the alley between the grungy brick buildings.

Now he walks in a half crouch, keeping very close to the wall. The alley branches on his right. He approaches the corner and quickly peers around. A man with long read hair, wearing a black coat pins a woman to the brick wall, something shiny in his hand.

Robin's heart jumps into his throat, his hands ball into fists. He sets his jaw and steps around the corner, shoulders squared. He walks right up to the man and takes him by the neck, kneeing him the back, then, twisting him around and grabbing the knife hand at the wrist. He twists. A loud _crack_ echoes through the alley and the knife clatters to ground.

The man howls, and Robin knees him in the ribs, hearing another _crack _and another howl. Taking the man by the shoulders, he slams him against the brick wall, teeth bared.

"You will never touch another woman!" Robin says. "Ever!"

He knees him again, then kicks the man's left knee.

The man crumples to the ground, whimpering.

Robin turns to the woman.

"Are you alright," he says.

She doesn't answer, just tries to collect her shredded top.

"The police are coming. They'll be here soon. Okay?"

He grabs his grapple hook out of his belt and fires it in the air. It catches and immediately, Robin is ripped into the air. A few seconds later, he lands on the rooftop with a roll, putting his grapple away and calling the T-jet.

"Well, hi," a feminine voice sounds behind him.

He knows that voice. He spins around to see Donna Troy, a.k.a Wonder Girl standing on the roof's ledge.

She's wearing her usual sleeveless, black, one piece with bright dots that look like stars in the sky, and silver gauntlets. Her lasso hangs from a silver belt. Her silky black hair falls in waves over her shoulders.

Robin has known Wonder Girl for many years, ever since they were little kids.

Batman would bring him to The Watchtower whenever the Justice League had need of The Dark Knight. Usually, he would make him wait outside the conference room. Robin would just sit there, in the shiny-walled satellite-space station, waiting.

At first, the league didn't approve of Batman taking on a partner so young. They thought he was corrupting a child. They accused Batman of trying to turn the boy into himself. They claimed he was just too obsessed to see it.

They couldn't understand how the implications made a certain boy wonder feel.

It wasn't until Robin inadvertently solved a case and saved a multitude of lives that the league started to take notice of how talented he was. They saw that he brought out a better side of Batman and though like the Batman, he too was born in darkness; Robin didn't seek out the shadows and was not reserved. In fact, he was the opposite; making friends with near anyone.

Shortly after, the league started showing up with "proteges" of their own. First, Green Arrow brought Speedy, then Wonder Woman brought Wonder Girl, then Aquaman brought Aqualad.

It wasn't long before Robin had his first real stable of friends. He was more than happy to have people his own age to hang out with during Batman's league visits.

During those visits, he became close with Wonder Girl. She was like the sister that he never had, but always wanted.

"I thought we were supposed to be the good guys," Wonder Girl says.

He shrugs. "Yeah, well, some of us more good than others."

She raises an eyebrow with a slight smirk and steps down from the roof's ledge.

"Stop tryin' to act like Batman."

Now, it's his turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Few crimes can bring out that side of me," he says. "And that;" he motions to the alley below. "Is one of them."

She nods, apparently deciding that the games are over.

"I got your message," she says. "How is she?"

"Doctors say she'll never walk again."

She shakes her head and frowns.

"That's awful," is all she can say.

"Yeah."

"And how are you doing?" she says.

"I'm fine."

She sighs.

"What?" he says.

She steps closer to him, now standing just a foot away.

"Really?" she says.

"Well, I'm not the one who got shot, Donna."

"I know you better than that. Don't play games with me. I know how hard everything's been for you these last few months. This thing with Barbara must be throwing you for a loop."

"Sorry to disappoint you," he says evenly.

She eyes him, then rolls her eyes, not buying the detached act for even a second.

"How are you holding up?" he says.

"So worried about everyone else that you can't even acknowledge your own pain," she says. "Same old Robin."

He lets out a breath and nods.

"Alright," he says. "Donna, look, I-"

Thunder rumbles like the sound of a cannon through the night, but the sky is clear. Something wet sprays his face, but it isn't rain. _Sniper!_

Wonder Girl looks at Robin with a shocked expression and wide eyes, then they roll back in her head and she collapses. A red pool of blood spreading beneath her. _NO!_

Instinct kicks in and he dives on top of her, protecting her with his body.

"Donna!" he says. "Donna!"

She's bleeding profusely from a gaping wound just below her chest. _No, Donna!_

He presses his palms into the wound to try and stop the bleeding, not caring that a bullet could rip through his own body at any moment. He tries to rouse her, but she's unresponsive. _Don't...Please..._

"Donna."

She lays motionless beneath him, the blood spreading. _Don't._

"Donna!.." he growls.

He pushes harder against the wound with his right hand, reaching for his communicator with his left.

"... Don't leave me..."

* * *

_Author's note_

_Hey, how is everyone? So that was Part Three. I know it's much shorter than my normal chapters, but I don't know how much time I'm going to have in the near future. I'm taking part in "camp nanowrimo". A writer's challenge to start a story from scratch and meet a certain word goal in the month of April. Hopefully I'll hit the goal early and be able to continue this sooner, but in case it takes me all month, I wanted to post as many updates here as I could, and let you all know why I might not be updating in a few weeks._

_So what did you think of part three? If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate. I love reviews, so please me some._

_Thank you jeenathespectrobesprincess for the review. That's interesting._

_Thank you H'sfreedom for the review. I'm so glad you loved it. There might be. We'll have to see._

_Thank you DeaGrimm, and jeenathespectrobeprincess for following, _

_and thank you everyone who's read the story so far. Ya'll are awesome!_

_PS_

_I just checked and there's something like 15 other Teen Titans fanfics with the title "Don't Leave Me". Should I look into changing it? I only used it cause it was a quote from Part One._

_Well, that's it for Part Three. Hope life finds you all well. Until next time..._

_mojo_


	4. Part Four

_**Raven**_

The elevator doors open to the living room area and she's happy to be home. She steps off the elevator first, going over to the kitchen to make some herbal tea.

Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Speedy all step off the elevator.

"Man, I hate it when they try it at night," Speedy says.

Beast Boy lets out an exaggerated yawn.

"Tell me about it," he says.

They had just come back from investigating an alarm at an industrial factory on the edge of Jump City.

By the time they got there, the bad guys were already gone.

Speedy walks over to the kitchen. Beast Boy and Cyborg both plop down on the couch.

After setting the pot to boil, Raven grabs her tea bags, remembering the night before when she had talked with Robin. She still hasn't received a call from him, and she still hasn't gathered the nerve to call him either. Not talking to him is harder than she ever thought it would be. Outside of the people of Azarath, Robin was the first person to ever help her. He was the first person to ever trust her, help her, care for her- care about her. Never has she missed someone's company like she misses his now. She checks the clock. 2_:58._

Too late to call him. She sighs and turns around to grab her tea pot. She bumps into Speedy and nearly falls.

"Oh, sorry," he says.

He grins a cocky smile with a certain gleam in his eye.

She steps back, bumping into the counter.

Speedy steps a little closer, further invading her personal space.

"So, Raven," he says, coming even closer. "You and I haven't had much chance to talk when our teams have worked together. You know, I've always _admired_ your- Wughaaaaaa!"

Speedy's foot flies out from under him , thanks to Raven's mental powers, and he slips, falling onto his back.

Raven smirks, grabbing a teabag from the counter behind her.

"You should watch your step," she says, stepping around the dazed form of Speedy laying flat on the tile.

She grabs the tea kettle and pours the hot water into a smaller teapot and drops the bag in, letting it steep. She hears Speedy getting to his feet, grumbling curses under his breath.

An alarm starts beeping.

"Owwwww, man!" Cyborg says. "Another one!? Already!?"

"No," Raven says. "That's a T-com."

They all pull their com out.

"Not mine," Cyborg says.

"Don't look at me," Beast Boy says.

Raven turns to Speedy.

He digs in his belt and pulls a com out.

"Speedy here," he says. "Does the day need my saving expertise already?"

His eyes pop wide.

"Robin, what the h- are you- is that-" he stammers. "What happened to you, man?"

_Robin!?_ Raven's heart speeds up. She floats quickly around to the other side of Speedy, so she can see the screen. Her heart drops into her stomach and she feels like she has a fist in her throat at the sight of Robin, his face and torso covered in blood.

"Robin?" Raven says. "Are you okay?"

"_It's Donna," _Robin says through the com. "_She's been shot."_

"What- how?" Speedy says.

"_Sniper," _Robin says. "_Roy, it's bad."_

Raven notes Robin's use of their real names; something he almost never does. _It must really be serious._

"Is she-" Speedy stammers. "Is- is she gonna make it?"

"_Dr Mid-Nite's working on her now. The bullet did extensive damage. Doc still doesn't know how much... Roy, she flat-lined three times in the ambulance..." _Robin trails off, taking on a faraway look, trying to compose himself.

Raven's afraid of the pain that she would see in his eyes, if he weren't wearing his mask. She wishes she were there with him.

Beast Boy, and Cyborg lean on the counter watching with interest.

"_They're calling for me," _Robin says. "_I'll call you as soon as I have an update."_

The screen goes black.

Cyborg rounds the counter and grabs Speedy's shoulder reassuringly.

"Look, man, if you wanna get down to Gotham to be at the hospital, I'm sure we can handle-"

Speedy looks like he's considering it, then shakes his head.

"Nah, I'm good here."

That is not what Raven was expecting. She eyes him and sees something in his eyes.

"Are you sure, man?" Cyborg says.

"Yeah, man. _Robin's_ there."

He says Robin's name with a certain _venom_.

Now it makes sense, Raven thinks. _He doesn't want to leave, cause he doesn't want to miss his chance at replacing Robin._

"I'm going," Raven says.

Everyone turns to her with wide eyes.

"Someone should be there for Robin," she says.

Cyborg nods with a scowl. Probably embarrassed that he didn't think of it.

"I can reach out to some other teams," Cyborg says. "I'm sure I can find somebody to fill in for you."

"Splendid," Speedy says. "Now that that's settled. Who's hungry? I'm thinking we should order take out. Tacos? Pizza?"

Even Beast Boy shakes his head with a scowl at that one.

(******)

_**Robin**_

"A coma?" Alfred says, standing next to Robin. "Will she come out of it?"

They stand in the white-walled hallway of Gotham General hospital.

"It's too early to tell," Dr Mid-Nite says. "The bullet did awful damage."

He wears a long white lab coat and special designed glasses.

His vision is inverted: he can only see in the dark. That's why he wears the special glasses that allow him to see infrared. He is one of the foremost experts in medicine and a kick-butt crime-fighter to boot. His team affiliation is with the Justice Society Of America, or the JSA for short.

"If she wakes," Robin says. "Will she recover?"

"We've repaired the damage as best we could. She's an Amazon woman, so we don't fully know what all that entails. Wonder Woman is on her way with some Amazon healers. We should know more then."

Robin nods, and Mid-Nite places his hand on his shoulder.

"Why don't you go clean up? I'll make sure we find you if anything happens."

Robin hadn't even considered the blood all over him.

"Sounds like a fine idea," Alfred says.

"Thanks, Doc," Robin says.

Mid-Nite chuckles.

"No thanks necessary. And you can call me Cross."

Robin nods, offering what little smile he can muster.

Mid-Nite turns and walks through a set of gray, double doors.

"Two nights in a row, Alfred," Robin says.

"Come now," Alfred says. "Let's get you cleaned up, and I'll make you some cocoa."

"Thanks, Alfred. Sounds good."

(******)

"How are things?" Batman says.

"We're holding our own," Robin says.

Alfred had brought him to the manor, and started fixing some food while Robin cleaned up with a quick shower.

After the shower, he was requested in the cave. He found Batman sitting at the bat-computer, his cowl down to reveal his black hair.

Robin was wearing a black hoody and was also unmasked.

"Good," Batman says without taking his eyes off the screen.

"Did you need something? Do you have a lead on Donna's shooter?"

A few keystrokes bring images of a shattered bullet up on enormous monitor.

"Ballistics on the bullet revealed something," Batman says, typing furiously.

The fragments merge to form a single bullet with an etching on one side. It says: Wonder Girl.

"Deadshot," Robin says.

"The best assassin in the world," Batman says. "Etches his victims name into the bullet he uses to kill them."

"Deadshot doesn't usually call his own shots, does he?"

"Typically no. And I can't find anything in his background that would suggest a grudge between him and the girl, or any of the girl's family."

"So he was hired to shoot Donna then?"

"Looks that way," Batman says.

"And Deadshot's already in the wind?"

The Batman nods.

"So we're back to square-one?"

Robin shakes his head, and resists a strong urge to punch something in the cave.

"Not exactly," Batman says.

"What have you got?"

"I trained you better than that, Dick. In any fight, the only weapon you're guaranteed to wield-"

"Is the mind," Robin finishes. "I haven't forgotten."

"So I see," Batman says. "You're just too distracted then. I taught you better than that as well."

"Just tell me what you're getting at?"

"It's staring you straight in the face. Focus on the case. Distance yourself from the anger, and the fear and the pain. Think, Robin."

Robin takes a few steadying breaths, letting go of his frustration at his mentor, centering his mind, seeing everything, letting go of the turmoil, focusing only on the facts.

"Barbara," he says.

"And Bingo was his name-o," Batman growls.

"Her getting shot last night, and Donna tonight is no coincidence."

"The league suspects attacks on the proteges. They're sending Captain Marvel to watch over the titans. Green Arrow, and Black Canary volunteered to go with."

"They want Roy close by in case anything happens," Robin says.

Batman nods.

"The JSA has already grounded Stargirl, Liberty Bell, and their other young members," he says.

"No," Robin says. "They're going about this wrong."

"Oh?" Batman says like he knows more than he's letting on.

"Barbara was shot Not Batgirl. Barbara. It's not an attack on the proteges."

Batman nods grimly.

"It's an attack on me."

"So it appears," Batman says.

"If we're right, then someone put the Joker up to shooting Barbara."

Batman nods again.

"We have to talk to him," Robin says.

The Batman had found the Joker and stopped him before he could hurt Commissioner Gordon. After subduing him, Gordon convinced the Batman to bring Joker back to Arkham.

"The league needs me at Watchtower for the next few hours. If we're going, it'll have to be in the morning."

With that, the Batman stands up, puts his cowl down and heads for the stairs on the far side of the cave.

"We can't wait until morning. I'll go alone," Robin calls after him.

He turns halfway around and smirks. "See you later, old chum."

The old nickname. Robin hasn't heard it in years. He smirks and makes ready for a solo trip to Arkham Asylum.

(******)

_**Raven**_

Raven throws a few essentials into a black bag, making ready for her trip to Gotham. Cyborg had convinced her not to leave until the reinforcements from the league arrived.

Try as she might, she can't shake the image of Robin covered in blood out of her mind, nor the pained look on his face when his composure slipped. She should have been there. She shouldn't have stayed. Why had he made her stay?

She pulls out her com and checks it. She has an email. Why hadn't she checked her emails before?

She hammers the buttons furiously. The message is from Robin. She opens it quickly, her eyes scanning the text.

**Hey, Raven, **

**I didn't want to wake you, so I sent an email. Knowing you, you probably won't get it for awhile, haha. **

**Anyway, thanks for understanding earlier. I'd hate to think I hurt your feelings. I'll hopefully be back soon. Try not to kill Beast Boy before I get back.**

**Robin**

She smirks to herself slightly at his apology. She checks the time-stamp on the message: it's from a few hours before he had called Roy covered in blood.

She still can't believe the turn of events. One minute, they were both sleeping on the couch. It was nice- more than nice. How amazing it is the way just one call can change things so drastically. She types a quick reply.

**Robin,**

**I'm on my way to Gotham.**

**Raven.**

Anything else she wants to say can be said in person when she arrives. She double-checks that she packed everything she needs, pulls her hood down, then heads upstairs. She finds the other titans sitting on the couch, talking to each other. She floats over near the couch.

"Any word?" she asks.

"Not yet," Cyborg says.

A bright light flashes in the kitchen. When it disappears, three new figures stand in the kitchen.

"Roy," a gruff voice calls out.

"I'm here," Speedy says, leaping over the couch.

He runs for the kitchen and stops.

Raven's eyes adjust and she sees two men, and one woman. One of them looks like a Robin Hood wannabe with a long blond beard. Green Arrow, Speedy's mentor.

The other is large with black hair, wears a red uniform with gold accents, and a gold lightning bolt emblem on his chest. _Captain Marvel._

The woman has long blond hair, wears a low-cut, black one-piece with a blue jacket, and fishnet stockings. _Black Canary._

Green Arrow closes the distance between him and Speedy, enveloping him in a warm embrace.

"I'm glad you're safe," he says.

"I'm glad you came," Speedy says back.

Black Canary places a hand on Speedy's shoulder and smiles slightly.

Captain Marvel approaches Cyborg.

"Has there been any disturbances?" he says.

"No," Cyborg says. "Everything's been quiet since my last message."

"Good," the large man says, eyes roving over the room. "Awesome place you got here- I mean- uh- efficient living space."

He clears his throat and stands up just a bit straighter, placing his hands on his hips.

Raven approaches the blond woman.

"So, I was offered a ride to Gotham," she says. "I'm ready whenever the Watchtower is."

The woman known as Black Canary eyes her coldly.

"I don't know about letting you go to Gotham on your own," she says. "And the transporter isn't a plaything."

Raven resists a strong urge to throttle the woman, and instead lets out a slow breath.

"I'm going. To support. My friend," she says. "With, or without the transporter."

The blond raises an eyebrow, hands on her hips.

"Robin could probably use the help," Captain Marvel cuts it.

"I'd sure feel better knowing Raven was there," Cyborg says.

"Me too," Beat Boy chimes in.

The blond woman shrugs.

"Fine, but if you get yourself shot up, or worse, don't come blamin' me."

She pulls out a device similar to a T-com. She presses a few buttons, then all Raven sees is white.

* * *

_Author's note_

_So that was part four! What did you think? Don't hesitate to leave any questions. I love reviews, so please leave one, and let me know how I'm doing. I'm open to suggestions as well, so if you have one, I'd love to hear it. I'm trying to expand on the titans universe with what I know of the DC universe, so let me know if you think things don't quite fit._

_Thank you TexMurphy for the reviews. Part Three was definitely Robin-centric. This whole story has been very Robin so far. Well, I'd left the readers mostly in the dark on purpose. I wanted them questioning, but not necessarily confused. I think this chapter sheds some light on what's been happening. Joker vs Titans is a good guess but... Attacks on the proteges was also a very good guess. Thanks for the advice on the title. Actually, the Piper is not my creation. He was a member of the "Rogues Gallery". Flash's main group of villains._

_Thank you templetongal for the review. I'm glad you think I've done a good job with Robin. I appreciate it very much. And thanks for the kind wishes._

_Thank you 2redmouse2 for the review. Glad you love it! Thank you also for following._

_And finally, thank you everyone who's read the fic so far. Ya'll are awesome!_

_Hope life finds you all well. Until next time._

_mojo_


	5. Part Five

_**Robin**_

The bike roars underneath him. Trees blur on the outsides of his vision as he storms up the access road to Arkham Island. His headlight illuminates a swath of the leaf covered road. He spots a gate in the distance. It opens to let him pass, then closes behind him. A few minutes later, he rolls into the employee parking lot. He parks, turns off the engine, then steps off the bike. There in front of him is Arkham Asylum. Once, it had been a vast estate, but then, it was donated to the city to be used as an asylum, taking the name Arkham after its original owner.

The old decrepit building looms in the distance. Pale moonlight illuminates his way across the grounds to the looming structure. He stops in front of the door, and takes a breath. Vines have crawled their way up the up the ancient, crumbling walls, giving off a ghoulish vibe. This is not the kind of place you enter with a smile on your face. No matter how fearless you are, the small hairs on your neck will stand up, your heart will sprint, your breath will hitch, and your chest will heat up.

Robin strides up the steps towards the security entrance, passages of Dante's Inferno running through his mind. _Through me you go to the grief wracked city; through me you go to everlasting pain; through me you go a pass among lost souls._

He comes to the entrance.

"Abandon All Hope- - Ye Who Enter Here," he grumbles under his breath.

He pulls the door open and crosses the threshold. The hallway is dank, and dark. Old portraits of old men and women hang on the walls. Robin gets the sense that their eyes follow him as he passes. The hallway is lit by single-bulb hanging lights spaced out too far apart, creating black shadows in between each circle of light.

"Robin?" a female voice calls from in front of him.

A blond woman wearing a white lab coat walks out of the black and under a light.

"That's me," he says.

She's young, maybe twenty at most. _Probably an intern._

"My name is Mary," she says. "I'm supposed to show you to the Joker's cell."

Robin raises an eyebrow.

"You are?" he says.

"You have some kind of problem with that?"

"Did they tell what happened to the last blondy they sent the Joker's way?"

"You think I'd fall for the Joker?"

She crosses her arms, and rolls her eyes.

"Didn't say that," he says, "However, Joker has a knack for hurting people. Do you know how many doctors that he's managed to kill in here?"

She shakes her head no.

"Too many. Which way?" Robin says.

She motions for him to follow, then starts down the hall. They come to a security checkpoint. She flashes a badge, and the guard lets them pass.

"If I were your bosses," Robin says. "I'd keep you as far away from Joker as possible."

She goes quiet as she leads him through the labyrinth of corridors. They wind deeper into the heart of the asylum. Wails of pain and of great sorrow, then screams of terror, and sounds indescribable reach their ears.

"So how does a nice young intern such as yourself wind up here?" Robin says.

"Not by choice," she says. "It was the last available position that would look good on a resume."

They pass a corridor with rows of steel doors on both sides. The doors have little slots that can be slid back, so one could see inside the room. More screaming can be heard from each door. They turn down another corridor, and pass another security checkpoint.

"So what are you doing here anyway?" she says. "It's not every night we get visitors from vigilantes."

"I need to question Joker about the shooting of the commissioner's daughter."

"So they send you? Batman, or Superman, I'd understand, but..." she trails off.

"What?" he says.

"Nothing," she says. "Never mind."

He chuckles quietly, and lets her lead him deeper into the asylum. The smell of antiseptic, air freshener, and old blood reaches his nostrils. Ten minutes later, she guides him into a corridor with large windows to see into each cell. You can see inside, but those inside cannot see out.

She takes a long breath, then nods.

"This is the one," she says.

He can see the whole room through the large window: white padded walls and floors, no window to the outside, no bed. The Joker hunches down in the corner, his face pressed into the far corner, looking like some kind of wild animal. To the right of the window is the door to the cell.

Robin points to Mary. "I'm going in. You, stay out of sight, okay?"

She tries to hold a measure of composure, but eventually, she nods furiously and offers Robin the badge-key to open the door.

He walks up to the door and holds the key near the electric reader.

"Abandon All Hope- - Ye Who Enter Here," he says again.

Mary curses under her breath.

"Was that really necessary?" she says.

He turns to his left, shrugs, then opens the door. He tosses the key back to her, and heads inside.

(******)

_**Raven**_

Her head swims, and the white light subsides. She blinks a few times, her eyes adjusting to the shiny-white, metallic walls and floors. Machines beep and whistle, and people mill about the circular room.

"Come with me," a gravely voice says.

She resists a strong urge to flinch, and turns towards the voice. She sees a tall, dark, cowled figure standing right next to her. Her eyes go wide.

"Batman," she breathes.

How did he sneak up on her? The whole place is white for goodness sake.

"You need to come with me," he says.

She stares up to his masked face, amazed at his height. Finally, she breaks out of her stupor.

"Are you taking me to Gotham?"

"Not yet."

"Why?"

He turns suddenly, and walks away from her.

She grumbles and follows him out of the circular room, and to the right down a long corridor. The wall to her left is completely transparent. She nearly gasps at the sight of the Earth out the window, so large it nearly takes up half the horizon.

"Robin thinks very highly of you," the Batman says, breaking her out of another stupor.

"Oh, well," she stammers. "I think very highly of him."

_Idiot_!she curses herself as they head down the mesmerizing corridor.

"So, uh-" she says. "What's this about?"

"There's been a development," Batman says.

Robin wasn't kidding; Batman really doesn't talk much.

He leads her to a room with many highly sophisticated looking computer consoles. A few other costumed crime-fighters stand in the room, typing away at the consoles.

"What have we found," Batman says.

"It's not good," a brown haired man says, reading a holo readout. "It looks like he's on his own."

The man comes away from the console and approaches them. He's wearing a black one-piece with a green torso, white gloves, a green domino mask. He has a white circle with a green lantern emblem in the middle of his chest. On his right hand, he wears a small green ring. That ring is one of the most powerful weapons in the entire galaxy.

"You must be Raven," he says.

She nods.

"And you're Green Lantern," she says.

"You can call me Hal," he says.

Batman storms past, manning a console, and typing furiously. He clenches his jaw, and breathes slow.

A black haired man, wearing strange blue goggles, and a red uniform stands at the console next to Batman.

"What's going on?" Raven says. "Why am I here?"

"Well, it uh- it's uh..." Green Lanterns face contorts, and he scratches at the back of his neck. "Well, you see, it's uh-"

"Bring it up on the main feed, Plastic Man," Batman says. "Let her see it for herself."

The red suited man hammers a few keys, then an image appears on a large holo display in the center of the large room. It looks like a news image from a helicopter, hovering over what looks to be an old estate.

"Give me audio," Batman says.

"On it," Plastic Man says.

"_Good evening, Gotham City!" _a gleeful voice hisses. "_We apologize for interrupting your scheduled programming to bring you this important announcement."_

"Is that-" Raven starts, then gets cutoff.

"_This is your friendly neighborhood Joker speaking."_

The image on the screen shifts to a video of inmates rushing out of their cells, attacking guards, attacking each other, and dragging hostages away kicking and screaming. The image shifts again to the stark white face, and contorted grin of the Joker. He's sitting in some kind of office.

"A prison break?" she says. "I don't understand. Why am I here for this?"

Green Lantern looks to Batman.

Batman looks like he might be rolling his eyes under his cowl.

(******)

_**Robin**_

He steps into the cell, closing the door behind him.

"Joker," he says.

No response, not even a shrug.

"You know why I'm here," he says, coming closer.

Still no response.

Robin walks up to him, and takes him by the shoulders, carefully, then turns him around. _What the!?_

The face staring back at him is pale white with an unnaturally wide grin, its eyes bulged nearly out of their sockets. It is not the Joker, but a man who was killed using Joker's toxin.

Robin's mind kicks in, and he drops the body, then spins around to the mirrored window.

"Open the door!"

He scrambles to the door as quick as he can. He hammers on the door with his fist.

"Open it now!"

(******)

_**Raven**_

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" she says.

She balls her fists in annoyance, and tries to let out a slow breath.

The Joker smiles, showing all his unnaturally yellow teeth.

"_I'm coming to you live from the currently under siege Arkham Asylum."_

Raven shakes her head.

"So the Joker staged another takeover. Why am I here?"

Still they refuse to answer her.

The image on the screen shifts to that of a young man in a white padded cell. He is wearing a long black cape, appears to be standing over a hunched figure in the corner.

"This video was taken ten minutes ago," Batman says.

The young man turns around, looking like he'd just seen a ghost. _Robin!_

Her blood runs cold, and her stomach aches with fear.

Robin shouts and bangs on the door, then the image fuzzes out, and is replaced by The Joker.

"_What?.. Robin? I was hoping for the big guy, but I guess you'll do."_

"We have to help him," Raven says.

Batman shakes his head.

The Joker laughs, and leans forward towards the camera. "_If even one more costumed hero even thinks about coming near the island, I'll blow up a children's hospital, or a school, or an orphanage... Or a zoo. Unless you want PETA coming after you, then I'd stay away. The island is mine now. And by the end of tonight, Robin will be no more. Ta ta for now."_

"No," Raven says, emotions boiling inside her.

(******)

_**Robin**_

The door finally opens, and he rushes out.

"What's wrong?" Mary says.

An alarm starts going off, then all the cell doors open. _Oh, crap!_

He grabs Mary, and spins her around, putting himself between her and the first inmate, wearing an orange jumpsuit, running straight for them.

The inmate draws his hand back for a knockout punch-

Robin's boot-heel connects with the inmate's throat, sending the inmate sprawling for the floor.

Three more inmates run at them from the same direction.

Robin turns to look behind, seeing four more.

They're blocked in.

He grabs his staff from his belt, and extends it.

"Stay very close to me," he says.

He twirls his staff with his left hand, drawing a few wing-dings with his right. He spins around, and in one fluid motion, he takes out two inmates with one swing, catching each square in the side of the head, keeping the motion going as if they weren't even there, then with a flick of the wrist, sends the wing-dings at the group of enemies on the other side of the corridor.

Three of them fall.

He feigns left, then rams his staff straight into an inmate's midsection, then leaps, twisting around in the air, putting all his momentum into a roundhouse kick. His boot connects with the the inmate's face, knocking him face first to the floor. He checks for Mary, and finds her crouched against the wall not far away.

Only one inmate remains on the other side of the corridor.

Robin takes off, going right past Mary, and heading for the last inmate. He lets out a battle-cry, and plants his staff in the ground in front of him, using it to flip his body around. He goes over the top of the running inmate, landing right behind him. He slams his staff into the legs of the inmate.

The inmate falls down face first.

Robin pounces on him, and slams his staff into his face with a loud _thwack!_

The inmate's lights go out immediately. Robin gets up, looks at the camera in the corridor, then grabs Mary's arm.

"We've gotta move," he says.

(******)

_**Raven**_

"We have to help him."

"We can't," Green Lantern says.

"We have to!" she says.

"Believe me, if there was any way-"

"There must be a way- there must be something we can- We can't just leave him out there to die!"

Green Lantern steps back, breathing deep, relaxing his muscles, preparing for a fight.

"What do you think Robin would want?" Batman steps between them, eyeing Raven. "Do you think he would want us to put innocent children at risk for him?"

She bites back a thousand angry retorts, breathing hard, fists clenched with white knuckles.

Batman takes a cautious step towards Raven, then another.

"What if we transported him away from there?" she says.

Batman shakes his head.

"There are innocent people on that island. People that only Robin can help now. What do you think he would say?" Green Lantern cuts back in.

"It's a moot point, Hal," Batman says. "I already checked, the Joker has somehow blocked our transporters from reaching the island."

"How is that possible," Raven says.

"He must have generators emitting low levels of specialized radiation," Batman says.

"So," Raven says. "What?"

Batman glares at her, then softens just a tad, and puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Until we can confirm that his threats are only bluffs," Batman says. "Robin's on his own."

* * *

_Author's note_

_Okay, so that was part five. Leave me a review, and let me know what you think. This will probably be my last update for awhile, so if it is, know that I have not given up on the story._

_Thank you TexMurphy for the review. I've been using present tense since the beginning. It probably seemed strange because for probably the first four or five paragraphs, I used past tense to describe past events, while still using the present tense to describe the current moment of action, so it kinda jumped around a bit. _

_I'm glad part four was clearer, and thanks, I'm glad you like my use of the "extended" DC Universe._

_Yes, I've been having trouble trying to "insert" more Raven into the story, so for now, she may seem relegated to love interest, but I do have a plan.  
_

_Thank you Red X for the review. Slade's a good guess, but isn't that kinda obvious?_

_Thank you templetongal for the review. I'm trying to get at least some kind of balance, but it's been pretty tough so far; Robin just keeps wanting to take over the story. _

_I could never understand why the tv show didn't bring in more of the DC Universe. There's just such a rich library to draw from. I managed to get Green Lantern into this one. I'm trying to find a way to get a few more of my favorites involved before the story is over._

_Thanks, I'll try hard to keep up the good work._

_Thank you Aliasin, Our Heroes Won't Die, and Edu Torres for following!_

_And a sincere thank you to everyone who has read the story. You are all totally awesome!_

_Well that's it._

_Hope life finds you all well. Until next time._

_mojo _


	6. Part Six

_I don't own Teen Titans_

_Author's Note_

_I'm Baaaaaaack!... I don't know if that's a statement, or a threat, but oh, well. On we go!_

* * *

_**Robin**_

_Oh, this is bad!_

"Come on, Mary, you have to focus," he says, dragging her down a long corridor.

They can hear all kinds of screaming, and wailing. The inmates are tearing each other apart out there.

Robin keeps calm, working quick, thinking through everything, trying to find the best course of action. He sees more cameras as they work their way down the hallway.

They hear a a few tones coming through speakers, then a voice cracks through.

"_Robin," _the voice of The Joker crackles through the speakers. _"__Where are you running to, little birdy? This place is mine, and you will not escape me."_

Robin leads Mary down the corridor, opening a door with her security pass, then stepping through, and slamming the door behind them.

The room is completely dark, but Robin can still see using special lenses in his mask. The room is small, filled with cleaning supplies and equipment, and is barely large enough for the two to stand toe to toe.

"What are we doing in the janitor's closet?" Mary whispers, her breath tickling Robin's cheek.

"They can see us wherever we go," Robin says.

"So, we're hiding here? With no escape?"

He rolls his eyes, but doesn't say anything. He pulls a device from his belt, and carefully aims it at the grate in the ceiling. It fires a grapple hook that catches the grate. Carefully, so as not to elbow Mary, he rips it down, catching it before it lands on Mary's head. He sets it aside, then interlocks his fingers.

"Up you go," he says.

"Wait, what?"

"Your foot, please."

Hesitantly, she places her foot in his hands.

"Ready?" he says.

She nods, and he shoves her up into the hole, holding his hands straight out above his head, supporting her weight as she crawls into the vent. He waits for her to crawl a good distance in, then leaps up, grabbing the threshold, and pulling himself in. He uses his grapple line to pull the grate back up, and places it back on as best he can. He takes a breath to gain his bearings. _Okay, first things first._

"Follow me," he says. "Nice, and slow."

"Got it," she says.

"And stay quiet."

(******)

_**Raven**_

"Where do we start?" Raven says.

The Dark Knight smirks. "We start by coordinating with local authorities."

"Why?" she says. "With all the power and tech of the league, wouldn't it be faster to just get out there, and look?"

"Most of the league may have superpowers, but the authorities have manpower and resources, and that is much more useful here. As for the technology at our disposal, we are already doing everything we can."

"So what can I do?" she says.

Batman leads her to a computer station, and types away for a second, then steps aside, and motions for her to take over.

"Read through these police reports, and tell me if anything strikes you."

"Strikes me?" she pauses. "Strikes me how?"

But the Batman is already walking away.

"You'll know it when you see it," he calls over his shoulder, then types away at his own console, and starts talking to someone through a comm link in his cowl."

(******)

_**Robin**_

A shirtless inmate with his face painted like a clown walks down a gray hallway, an assault rifle at the ready. He turns and looks at his comrades, each of them dressed similarly; some in orange jumpsuits, some in black jackets that they stole from the guards, each have their faces panted, and each have an assault rifle.

"_Found anything yet?"_ Joker's voice squawks through the speakers.

The shirtless inmate brings a two way radio to his mouth. "Nothing yet, boss."

He looks up, and crashes down on the ground as Robin falls right on top of him, immediately knocking him out.

The other guards jump in surprise, and Robin seizes the advantage, launching a few discs from his belt. Small explosions go off in rapid succession, filling the hallway with smoke.

The guards start coughing, and cursing.

Robin draws his staff and extends it. He grins and charges right at them, seeing through the smoke with his lenses. He slams one inmate's forearm, causing him to drop his gun while also kicking another in his manhood.

Robin twists and sidesteps as one of the inmate's fires blindly in his direction. He kneels down, swinging the staff in a wide, sweeping arc, knocking the enemies legs out from under them, then he pounces on the last goon standing, driving his shoulder into his abdomen, and lifting his legs to drive him back first into the ground. He mounts him, and one good blow from his staff puts him unconscious.

He stands up, and pummels the others on the ground quickly.

"_Robin, Robin, Robin,"_ Joker says, his clown-like image appearing on a screen under a camera. _"__Shouldn't you be in school?"_

Robin grabs the radio from the shirtless inmate.

"At this time of night?" Robin says into the radio. "Your joke doesn't even make sense. You're not slipping, are you?"

"_Hahaha! Oh, Batman never engages me in witty banter. This might just be more fun with you after all. A shame I still have to kill you."_

"We'll just have to see about that."

"_Don't get too cocky, little Robin. Those guys were just the beginning. I have plenty in store for you."_

"Yeah, like what?"

"_Ah, ah, ahhhh, and spoil the surprise? Nooo... Oh, you impatient little imp, you. You'll see." _He lowers his tone. _You'll see. Haha! Hah!"_

Robin turns from the screen, and sprints down the corridor, knowing that more goons will be arriving any second.

(******)

_**Raven**_

She grumbles under her breath while reading through an endless screen of police reports. This is pointless, she thinks. She should be out there helping Robin, not pouring over reports of traffic stops, and low level B&E's. It's pointless. _It's just pointless!_

She's about to tell The Dark Knight so when her eyes find a report of a speeding vehicle. She pours over the report, then reads it again.

"I think I've got something," she calls out.

Batman, Plastic Man, and Green Lantern all turn to look her way.

"Bring it up on the main feed," Batman says.

Green Lantern types away, then it appears on the large holo display in the center of the room.

"Young blond woman pulled over in her 99 Jeep Cherokee-" Green Lantern says.

"It says she had copious amounts of fertilizer in the S.U.V," Raven says.

Batman smirks. "The name on her I.D was _Jo Ann Kerr._"

"Jo," Raven says. "Kerr."

"Jo-Kerr!" Plastic Man shouts. "Could it be a coincidence."

"I don't believe in coincidence," Batman, and Raven both say at the same time.

Batman smirks. "There may be hope for you as a detective yet." He turns to Plastic Man. "Get me the address on the report, and Harley Quinn's last known location."

He turns to Raven. "You're coming with me."

(******)

_**Robin**_

_Alright,_ he thinks. _Last one._

He sticks a small square of a clay-like substance on a large piece of heavy machinery. He's in the power room, and he's planting explosives on the power generators.

He steps out of the room, and into another gray hallway.

Three face-painted goons step around the corner pointing their guns at him.

He puts his hands up. "Relax guys," he says. "Let's go see your bos-"

A deafening explosion goes off, followed by another. The ground trembles beneath them, and all the lights go out, leaving them in pitch black.

Robin smirks, and takes off, knocking out all three in blow. He climbs back into the ventilation shaft, where Mary sits waiting for him.

She curses wildly when she sees him. "What was that!?"

"I took out the power generators," he says.

"Why?"

"All primary systems are down. The backups will kick in, giving us door control, and other basic systems like the P.A, and lights, but," he says. "But, the cameras are down."

"So they can't track us?"

"And that gives me a huge advantage."

* * *

_Author's Note_

_Thank you Templetongal for the review. I'm glad you liked the balance, and I'm so glad you found it exciting! I wasn't too sure about the Joker's plot, so thank you for that._

_Thank you Ahsokalo for the review. lol, you liked the Dante's Inferno reference, huh? I thought it was pretty fitting._

_Thank you The Samurai Prince for the review. I'm glad I've caught your attention. It's a bit like the game, but there's no "Titan formula", or anything like that here. Yeah, unfortunately Raven hadda be away. Yeah, The Joker's awesome if he's done right, but he's one heck of a challenge to write. Maybe it's Slade. Maybe it's not. We'll have to see. You like my writing?.. You are now my favorite person in the whole world! lol! _

_Thank you Red X for the review. Yeah, I've noticed how many stories have Slade as the main villain. Thank you for reading._

_Thank you Psychic,soul for the review. I love to hear that! Thanks!_

_Thank you TexMurphy for the review! Thanks. _

_Yeah, I'm not saying that I'm against romance, but I'm not so good at it, so I try to just weave a balanced story. Romance is always better when it's a part of the larger story, and not the sole focus._

_So, Raven's part is getting bigger. I'm not there yet, but..._

_Thanks._

_Thank you psychic soul, LuiBiao, Wolftaoist, shannon,l,sipes for favoriting. Thank you so, so much!_

_Thank you Wolftaoist, Whatever Way The Wind Blows, shannon,l,sipes, WackedOutWebb, and The Samurai Prince for following!_

_And finally, thank you everyone who has read the story so far. Thank you all so very much._

_That's it for this part._

_Hope life finds you all well. Until next time._

_mojo_


	7. Part Seven

_I do not own Teen Titans..._

* * *

And so, they crawl.

And they crawl.

And crawl and crawl.

And crawl some more.

Finally, Robin stops, and motions to a grate below them. He can hear voices. Male voices.

They're arguing about something. He can't quite make it out. He motions to Mary to keep quiet, and prays that she can. The men below no doubt have guns, and if they hear them, then Robin, and poor Mary will wind up Swiss cheesed.

Robin pulls a chord with a lens on each end from his belt, then drops the smaller end down the vest while peering through the other side. He sees men standing directly beneath the vents, talking about something. Robin adjusts the chord's position, getting him a better view of the hallway.

The men nod in agreement, then walk on.

Robin waits an excruciatingly long time, then pulls the chord back up, winds it, and puts it back in his belt. Carefully, he works the grate open, then drops down, whirling around 360. No one left in the corridor.

"Okay, Mary," he says. "Come on."

He waits, and her face appears, sticking just out of the vent.

"Are you sure it's safe?" she says.

"Yes, Mary, now come on."

She bites her lip, and doesn't move.

"Very little time to waste," he says. "Come on."

"I..." she trails off.

"What?"

He throws his arms to the side, becoming very annoyed.

"I can't." she says.

"Can't what?"

"I'm afraid," she says.

He rolls his eyes, thankful that his mask is one, and that she can't see him do it.

"I promise, I will catch you," he says. "Now, come on."

She disappears in the vent, then her legs appear. She drops down a little, now hanging by her waist. Long seconds go by, and she just hangs there. Finally, she drops, and sure enough, he catches her.

He sets her down, then turns down the corridor. They move in silence, backs sliding against the wall on the right, moving from shadow to shadow.

(******)

_**Raven**_

She focuses on the warm feeling in her chest, reassuring herself that Robin's still alive. She's sure that she would feel it- if something were to happen to him- if he were to die- she's sure that she would feel it. She releases slight sigh from the passenger side of the Batmobile as the Dark Knight speeds down the grungy streets of Gotham.

She peers over at the Batman.

He is the picture of steely determination, and focus as the city lights blur past the canopy's glass.

"This will not be easy," he says.

"What?"

"It's the Joker," he says. "Nothing is ever simple."

She nods behind her cowl. "I understand."

"Do you?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever worked a Joker case before?"

"No."

"Then you can't know."

She turns away from him, and looks down at her hands.

"Keep your eyes open," he says. "Nothing is as it appears to be. Do exactly as I tell you, when I tell you, and if anything goes bad, keep your calm. Think," he pauses. "Panic will kill you faster than a bullet."

"Robin's told that to us before," she says. "Many times."

The Batman spins the wheel, angling the vehicle around a curve. "And if things go very bad-"

"Never give up," she cuts him off. "Never, never, never, never, never give up... Robin's told us that one too."

The Batman smirks, then rams his foot down on the accelerator.

(******)

_**Robin**_

"Where are we going?" Mary says.

"Just trust me," Robin says.

They walk down a winding corridor.

"Where are we going?" she says again.

"The tower."

"The tower?" she says. "But the stairs collapsed last month. It's unreachable."

He nods. "Which makes it the perfect place to hide."

"Oh," she says, then goes silent.

After a few minutes, he starts noticing holes in the walls, then larger holes, then mounds of rubble where an entire wall once stood, then a great pile of rubble where a staircase once stood.

He peers up, and fires his grapple.

"Hold on tight," he says, then grabs her, pulling her to him.

He feels her grip tighten, then they fly into the air, going straight up.

Moments later, he sets her down where the floor is stable.

"You'll be safe here," he says.

"Okay," she says. "Wait a minute. What do you mean, '_I'll_ be safe here? You're not staying?"

He shakes his head no, then leaps into the hole that was once a staircase. The wind rushes through his hair, and whips against his face, and for a second, he revels in it, then his grapples slows his descent, and lands safely on the ground, the grapple already coiling inside the shooter. He imagines that she had more to say, be he didn't have time, and frankly, he is glad to have her off his back. Now, he's free to do what he needs to do. _First things first: Hostages._

He has to find the hostages, and set them free. And he has a pretty good idea where to start, though it will not be easy.

(******)

_**Raven**_

The Batman winds the car around a winding mountain road. The address on the driver's license lead to an old estate on the outskirts of Gotham, up in the hills, near the water. They reach a large Deco style house on a cliff-side, overlooking the water. The red sunrise coming up over the water.

"Do a quick sweep of the perimeter, then come back here," Batman says.

Raven nods as the canopy slides open. She floats out of the car, then flies around the perimeter, eying everything. The estate is surprisingly vast considering its location, the surrounding lawn and forest also much larger than she would have first guessed, but she sees nothing that gives her pause. No movement. Nothing.

She lowers herself next to the driver's side of the car.

"It's all quiet," she says.

Batman hops from the vehicle, then stalks his way up to the servants entrance of the house. They open the door. It's unlocked.

"They know we're here?" Raven says.

"They lead us here," Batman says. "_Of course_ they know we're here."

"If they lead us here, then isn't this a trap?"

Batman smirks, then enters the shadows of the house.

The whole house is dark. They walk down one dark corridor after another, checking each room they pass until they come upon an atrium, a large open space with a glass roof. In the middle of the atrium is a large computer screen.

"_Oh, hi'ya, Bman. Who's the toots with the blue hood?" _Harley Quinn's voice garbles through speakers throughout the atrium.

Harley was once a promising young doctor at Arkham Asylum until she fell under the Joker's spell; somehow becoming as crazy as he is.

Raven approaches the screen

"Where's Robin?" she says before she can stop herself.

"_Sorry, toots,"_ Harley says. _"__But I can't hear ya unless you push the button."_

Raven reaches for the button.

"NO!" Batman screams, but is too late.

Raven presses the button.

Batman leaps headlong, grabbing Raven to knock her out of the way just as the screen explodes with a deafening bang, and a hail of flying debris.

The shock-wave pounds into them, throwing them flying across the room, and knocking Batman unconscious.

She can hear Harley's muffled laughing through garbled speakers, then the room fills with green mist. Her eyes grow heavy, and her world goes black.

(******)

_**Robin**_

Inmates walk down a another poorly lit hallway with small circles of yellow light surrounded by thick black nothingness. An inmate steps into the black, then whimpers just before a loud thud echoes through the hallway. The three other inmates turn towards the whimper, their guns trembling in their hands. They freeze, trying to stare into the black. They call out to their friend, but get no answer. They step closer to the dark, then a slight glint of light flashes just before metal objects fly into their weapons, knocking them from their hands. They curse, and scramble for their weapons as Robin explodes from the darkness, flying through the air, slamming into two of them at once with his staff.

They both fall unconscious, and Robin turns towards the last inmate.

The inmate draws a long curved knife, his broken teeth glinting in the yellow light. He lunges at Robin, blade going right for the young hero's heart.

Robin twirls his staff into a block, slamming it against the attacker's wrist, knocking the blade away, then he steps up, slamming his boot into the attacker's torso.

The attacker doubles over, clutching his stomach.

Robin twirls his staff in his fingers, then takes it with both hands on one end, and slams it down on the back of the inmate's head, like a lumberjack chops wood.

The attacker crumples to the floor, out cold.

He hears the Joker's voice squawk through a radio on one of the inmate's.

"_Report in. Have you found him?... Useless, good for nothing, moronic, fat- Oh, no, not you boys. I was talking about my mother."_

Robin rolls his eyes, then presses on down the dark hallway, eyes scanning everything, ears on alert for any sound that doesn't belong, waiting for the doors to fly open, and inmate's to come pouring out. He comes to a large, double door, and pauses, listening. He hears movement inside, shouting, and whimpering.

He uses his optic-cable to spy under the door. The door is unguarded. He slowly, carefully, quietly opens the door just enough, then steps inside, slowly, carefully, quietly closes it behind him. It's the cafeteria. Rows upon rows of tables are lined up throughout the room. The inmates have ushered the hostages into the center of the room.

The cafeteria is a great place to keep the hostages, Robin thinks. It's large enough to hold them all, easy enough to keep them in line, and not lose anyone. And it is also an easy place to spring an ambush.

Yeah, the hostages are bait, and the cafeteria is a trap. Robin knows this. And yes, he came to the cafeteria anyway.

He crouches in the shadows, eying the room, watching the guards, running through all the possible scenarios, trying to choose wisely his next actions for the consequences might be lethal to himself, or to others. He spots stone gargoyles hung high above the room. The room used to be some lavish banquet hall, or ballroom, or something, but that all changed when the place was donated to the city.

His grapple makes a noise like a muted cough, then he soars through the air, and lands crouched on a gargoyle. He adjusts the lenses in his mask, zooming in and out, trying to identify the armed targets, and the weapons they are carrying. Most carry knives, some carry assault rifles.

One inmate walks beneath Robin's gargoyle. Robin drops down, grabbing him by the throat, so he can't scream, then they raise back up on top of the gargoyle. He keeps his hold until the inmate passes out, then Robin ties his ankles, and drops him to hang upside down on the gargoyle. _One down._

He pulls his grapple, and fires, then swings to another gargoyle, this one a short ways from the group of enemies.

An inmate sees his comrade swinging from the gargoyle, and screams to the others.

Now is Robin's chance.

He leaps from his gargoyle, taking out two armed guards as he lands in the middle of the group, staff extended.

The inmates jump back, scared, hesitating.

Robin seizes the advantage, staff swinging wildly as he makes way through the crowd, ducking and dodging, spinning and slashing.

An inmate gets a bead on him, and fires.

Robin ducks as a bullet whizzes past his head, then throws a wing-ding as rises.

The wing-ding flips through the air, knocking the gun from the inmate's hand before he gets a second chance to fire.

A punch rocks Robin's senses, and he staggers back, blinking away stars. When his vision returns, all he sees is the glint of a blade, heading right for his face. He rips his staff up as fast as possible, knocking the blade safely over his head, then he slams the staff down with both hands, the point catching the top of the inmate's foot, sending him to the floor, grabbing his foot.

Robin jumps up, feet flying, catching two guys at once. He flips backwards through the air, lands on his feet, then rolls to the side, avoiding gunfire. He comes out of the roll, throwing two more wing-dings, disarming two more enemies.

Four men with knives charge at him from the front. He plants his staff in the ground, and leaps, letting the staff take him up high, over the enemies. He lands on the other side of them, kicking one near the kidney, while hammering another in the back of the head with his staff.

One of them lunges at him, blade swiping for his neck. He jumps away from the blade, and swings his staff.

The inmate ducks away, then lunges again.

Robin barely manages to avoid the blow, then throws his staff up, blocking a blow from another inmate, leaving him wide open. A boot connects to his midsection, and he staggers. He slams the point of his staff into the ground to steady him just as a fist glances off his jaw. He takes the blow without flinching, then connects his boot to the inmate's face.

Robin spins away, backpedaling, trying to get space.

Two inmate's remain on their feet, one of them grasping at his back, where Robin had kicked it.

Breathing hard, limbs heavy, Robin stares down the last standing inmates. Now, he notices the hostages in the distance behind them, some of them standing, raising guns, pointing them at him.

He rolls sideways, then bounds, and does a forward handspring as bullets fly past his ear, so close he can hear their song as they cut through the air, an oddly appealing sound.

He lands near the tables, and turns on over, taking cover behind it, cursing himself. _How could I have been so stupid? Of course, some of the hostages weren't really hostages. Idiot!_

* * *

_Author's note_

_Well, that was it for Part Seven. What did you think? If you have questions, or comments, don't hesitate. I love reviews, so please leave me one. Alright, time for the thank you's..._

_Thank you The Samurai Prince for the review. That's exactly who I hear in my head while writing it. He was just awesome! Yeah, well, I want so badly to write well, so hearing that someone likes my actual prose, not just my ideas, or the story, but the actual writing... I struggle with that, so hearing that you liked it made my week._

Thanks. Yes, it was short, but after taking most the month off, I wanted to just kinda dip my toe back in the water so to speak; work myself, and the readers back in slowly.

Thanks, I will, and you too!

_Thank you Jeenathespectrobeprincess for the review. Well, does it look like a wild goose chase? lol_

_Thank you The-Lithe for the review. You're awesome! Thank you so much!_

_Thank you Wolftaoist for the review. Thanks. I'll try to keep up the good work._

_Thank You Emmi30307 for the review. Oh, wow, thank you!_

_Thank you Ahsokalo for the review. :) Thanks. I'll try to keep up the good work._

_Thank You Monkeyfish for the review. Thanks, I appreciate that. Joker's tough to get right, so thanks for that._

_Thanks N7-Disguise, EduTorressD, TuTsXxX, The-Lithe, Emmi30307, Jeenathespectrobeprincess for favoriting. Ya'll are awesome!_

_Thank you Emmi30307 for following._

_And thank you everyone who has read the fic so far. Thank everyone who has even read a chapter. You are all so awesome :)_

_One more thing: what do you all think of length? Would like some shorter chapters for sooner updates?... Let me know..._

_Until next time. Hope life finds you all well._

_mojo_


	8. Part Eight

He hears shouting and movement as the goons move to flank him.

"_Tsk, tsk, little birdy,"_ Joker's voice squawks through the radio.

Six goons close in, surrounding the table.

Robin's mind kicks in as he drops smoke pellets right in front of him. The smoke covers him completely, and when it dissipates, he's gone- vanished.

(******)

_**Raven**_

The sun shines down gently on her face, and birds chirp overhead. She lays out on a blanket next to a quiet stream, wearing a black one-piece bathing suit, for a second she wonders how she had gotten there, but then she sees him: Robin.

He plops down on the blanket in front of her, smiling.

She swallows, unsure of what's going on.

Robin reaches his hand forward, touching her cheek. He opens his mouth to whisper, then Raven's eyes rip open, and she jolts awake.

She sees the ceiling of a vehicle, and hears the constant hum of an idling engine, and knows that she's in the back of a van. She tries to sit up, but she's bound. She tries to say her chant, but her mouth is gagged. She can feel Batman's unconscious form next to her.

The doors fly open behind her.

"Ah, ah, ahh, toots," Harley says.

Raven feels a flash of pain, then her world goes black.

(******)

_**Robin**_

"Where is he?" one of the goons calls. "Spread out and find hi-"

Robin's fist thunders into a nerve cluster in the goon's back, near the spine, temperately paralyzing him. Before the other goons have time to turn around, Robin shoves the goon into two of his friends, then launches wing-dings, disarming the others.

The two struggle to hold their friend up, but he's dead weight. They drop him, then turn their guns to Robin. Too late.

He slaps the gun away from one while digging his boot-heel into the other's midsection. He ducks a blow from the one whose gun he'd slapped. While at the same time, punching the other goon's gun out of his hands.

The other goons recover from the wing-dings, and charge at Robin all at once while he's engaged with the two of their friends.

He drops, sweeping his leg under both enemies, using the momentum of the sweep to turn around, and run to meet them. He leaps high into the air, then drops into a roll, coming up with an uppercut to the first goon's chin, knocking him off his feet, into the air, and slamming down flat on his back, passed out.

Robin sidesteps twice, causing the faster goons to run into the slower ones as they try to get to him. Some stumble, and fall. Robin makes quick work of the ones on the ground, booting them in their faces. One remains standing in front of them, and the two he'd swept now make their way to their feet behind him.

Robin rushes forward, slamming his knee into the goon, then stepping on the goon's bent knee to launch himself into the air, over the goon's head. He lands behind him, and lashes out with his boot, catching the goon right on the side of the head. The goon goes down hard.

The last two look at each other, then scramble for weapons.

Robin runs towards them, and finishes them quickly, punching one, and then choking out the other.

He stands in the middle of the room, unconscious bodies all around him. He breathes deep, his chest heaving with breath. He turns back towards the hostages.

"Are you alright?" he says.

He looks them over carefully before helping to untie them.

"Thank you," an elderly man says, looking all directions, breathing erratically.

"What is it?" Robin says.

"The Joker, he- uh- uh- He wanted me to give you this."

The man holds out an android tablet, or ipad, Robin isn't sure which.

Robin gives it a quick once over to make sure it isn't booby trapped, then an image of Joker's unnaturally pale face appears on the video screen.

"_Well, well, well, it looks like you've foiled my ambush, boo-hoo,"_ Joker says.

"Give it up now, Joker. I've freed the hostages."

The Joker laughs that high-pitched, maniacal laugh that only he can, smiling from ear to ear, almost literally.

"_Ah, but not all of them."_

The image changes to two figures strapped to tables, and Harley Quinn standing over them. Robin recognizes the figures immediately: Raven and Batman.

He's frozen, his heart in a vice grip, his breath unconsciously held.

"_Ah, I see you know them." _He laughs deep, and low this time. _"Harley, my dear, oh, what she'll we do with the party poopers?"_

"_I say we kill em, puddin',"_ Harley's voice breaks through the speakers.

"_Well, of course!"_ Joker laughs. _"But how? Any suggestions, little birdy?"_

"Joke-"

"_Oh, the fun we'll have."_ The image changes back to the Joker, his face going right up to the camera. _"See ya soon."_

Just before the video went black, Robin swears he had heard Raven screaming.

* * *

_Author's Note_

_It's short, I know. Please don't hate me. I'm trying hard to get back into the swing of this story, but it is not coming easily._

_Thank you, Tamane Deverel for the review! The gargoyle's were more of an homage to the game. Like I said before; it's kind of inspired, but not at all going to go the same route as the game did._

_Thank you, The Samurai Prince for the review! Yeah, TDK reference, nice catch! Sorry it took me so long to update._

_Thank you, Red X for the review! I'm glad you're liking the fight scenes. Hah, I'll try to keep up with good chapter endings._

_Thank you, Ahsokalo for the review! Thanks so much, I appreciate it._

_Thank you, Tamane Deverel, Way Of The Sheikah, and kricV5 for favoriting._

_Thank you, Way Of The Sheikah, kricV5, blindhuntress, and Tamane Deverel for following._

_So that's it for part eight. Thank you everyone who's read so far. Thank you all so much. Please leave me a review, and let me know how I'm doing. All questions and comments are welcome._

_Until next time. Hope life finds you all well._

_mojo_


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